"In my term of office [since October 2013, ed.] we have silently, slowly, and without publicizing it, sacked more than 50 employees. These employees were of different ranks, and many cases are still in court," Pētersone said.
Last year Pētersone had tasked the audit department of the VID to compare the information on record with that of the employees' income declarations. In September the service identified a total of 173 persons who are to be scrutinized.
The employees found guilty of official misconduct are to be sacked via disciplinary or criminal proceedings. The tax authority employs about 4,000 people.
An investigation aired early February by Latvian Television's "Forbidden Methods" about the unexpected wealth of a former Finance Police employee who reportedly inherited half a million dollars from his mother, a teacher who could not possibly have left such an enormous inheritance.
Soon after, the new Finance Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola tasked the revenue service to review the work of high-level employees and offer suggestions on how to get rid of unscrupulous officials.
